Disciples Need to be Perfectly Trained for Life's Storms

Welcome back to our study of Mark’s Gospel, “Lessons in Discipleship”. If you haven’t been with us for the past few weeks let me catch you up on where we’ve been. In Mark’s Gospel, the Lord begins His ministry teaching throughout the northern region of Israel which is Galilee, and His fame spreads quickly. Well, the religious authorities obviously get wind of Jesus’ teaching, and the miracles that He is performing, so they come and investigate. Needless to say, this leads to serious conflicts between Jesus’ teachings and the Pharisees’ legalistic interpretation of the Law of Moses. Well, when it is all said and done, not only do the religious leaders reject Jesus and His teaching, but they accuse Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan. When this happens Jesus changes His teaching style. He goes from teaching openly in a manner that everyone can understand, to a manner that is difficult to understand. In other words, He begins to teach in parables. And He tells His disciples why He is teaching in parables. He says, “To you (my disciples) it has been given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables”. So Jesus says, “hey to my followers, to the willing listeners that are open to my teaching, I am explaining these parables about the kingdom of God. But to those who have rejected me, I’m speaking in parables so that they can’t understand these additional revelations.

And this is exactly what we saw last week as we wrapped up the parable section of Mark’s Gospel. Let’s look quickly at the last couple of verses that we covered.

Mark 4:33–34 NKJV

33 And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. 34 But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.

So, again we see Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, but look what verse 34 says, “And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples”. Legacy, right here tucked into this verse we have a beautiful picture of discipleship. Remember in the original language the word disciple simply means a student or a learner. I found another definition that I’m also quite fond of.

Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek New Testament μαθητής

Learner — someone who takes up knowledge or beliefs from a teacher.

I love this definition. Someone who takes up knowledge or beliefs from a teacher. To me, this is a perfect description of what we should be aiming for. We should be aiming to take up knowledge and beliefs from the Teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we are doing this we become like Him. Listen to what Jesus says in Luke 6:40.

Luke 6:40 NKJV

40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.

I cannot resist pointing out something about this verse. Let’s look at the second part of the verse. Jesus says, “everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher”. Let’s talk about what it means to be “perfectly trained”. In the Greek “perfectly trained” is one word, and it means...

Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek New Testament καταρτίζω

to be prepared (state) — to be made or become ready, suitable, or equipped in advance for a particular purpose or for some use or event.

So, to be perfectly trained means to be prepared, or to be made ready. It means to be equipped in advance for a particular purpose. We might even say it means to be fully trained. Another definition I found said “to be put into proper condition. And here is where I am going with this. To be a disciple we should be in constant training. When we study our Bible we are in training, and this is what prepares us for service. In other words, to be a disciple who is well trained we need to be in the class room. We need to be in the class room a lot. When we come to church we should come ready to learn. When we go to Sunday school we should be ready to learn. During the week we should be reviewing what was talked about on Sunday. We should be studying the passages we covered on Sunday mornings coming up with questions. I welcome your questions. I love to talk about the Bible. So, come ask me.

Now I’m making a big deal about this for a reason. You see, more often that not Christians want to skip the class room part. A lot of times believers want to be busy serving or do these great things for God, but they don’t want to learn their Bibles. Listen to me. This is a mistake. You cannot effectively serve God, without studying your Bible. Look back our verse in Luke for a second.

Luke 6:40 NKJV

40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.

Here is the most important part about this verse. It says everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. This is the most important aspect of discipleship. Learning about Jesus makes us more like Him. That is what is happening as we open the Word of God and study. When we see Jesus on the pages of scripture, the Holy Spirit uses this image (the word) to transform us into the likeness of Christ. In other words, the more we study and learn from the Master the more we become like Him. And the more we become like Him, the better we can serve Him. Or, the more "perfectly trained we are for His service. We must be becoming more like Jesus to effective serve Him, and we become more like Him by studying about Him. Legacy, we can’t skip the classroom. It is the most important part of discipleship.

Over the years, there is one question I get asked probably more than any other. How can I serve more? What can I do to be a better servant of the Lord Jesus Christ? How can I do great things for the Lord? And the answer that I give, usually disappoints people. Well, at least I think it does. What is the answer that I give?

Study Your Bible

You see, when people are new to the faith they are excited. They are ready to jump in with both feet, and this is a beautiful thing. In fact, it is one of my favorite things to watch. I love to watch a new believer catch fire for the Lord. And when I see this happening this is my hope for them. My hope is that they channel all of their enthusiasm into studying the Word of God. Unfortunately, many spiritually immature believers want to skip this part. In fact, I would say a majority of Christians try and skip this step. Listen to me. I cannot tell you how detrimental this is for you spiritual health. Here is a slide that I’ve been sharing periodically throughout this series.

Discipleship begins and ends learning at the Master’s feet.

Now, let me explain what I mean by this. I mean your entire life as a disciple is a learning process. Over the course of our lives we are learning, growing, and becoming more like the Lord Jesus Christ. The key ingredient of the growth process is the word of God. To live victoriously in Christ we must be devoted students who minds are constantly being renewed by the word of God. This is what transforms people. This is what creates growth. This is what enables us to endure when times get hard. This is how our plants grow deep roots that can endure when the hot sun of trials and tribulation hit us. This is what sustains our Christian lives. The race we are running is not a sprint it is a marathon, and we need to develop endurance.

Unfortunately, over the past 15 years or so I have seen many believers catch fire for the Lord, and start out with running such a great race, only to fall away when things get difficult. Brothers and sisters here is one thing that I can guarantee is going to happen to you on your pathway of discipleship. Things are going to get hard. There are going to be troubles. There are going to be trials, and there are going to be times when you just want to throw up your hands and quit. There will be times, when you just want to go back to the old way of living, doing what you want to do. In order not to fall into this trap, we need our minds renewed by the word of God. We need to be resting on the promises of God’s word. In other words, we need healthy plants with deep roots. We achieve this by marinating our minds in the word of God. We achieve this by being in fellowship with other believers, who can support us, and we achieve this by constant prayer. If we want to be great servants of the King of glory, stay in the classroom. Study the word of God so that we will be prepared for the storms that life throws at us. Which brings us to the title of today’s lesson.

Disciples must be perfectly trained to handle life’s storms

In case, you didn’t catch it. I took “perfectly trained” from the Luke verse we looked at earlier, where Jesus said, “but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher”. You see, our training will determine how we respond to life’s storms when they hit. And what we are going to see today is that Jesus’ disciples don’t do well when they face this storm on the sea of Galilee. In fact, we might even say the flunk the test, and this speaks volumes to us. Discipleship is a process and failure is going to be a part of that process. This is why learning and growing is so important because we are going to fail in our walk with the Lord, but when we do if we open and honest with God about our sin, and we continue to grow in the word, then we make progress. Then, we continue to look more like Jesus, and then when we face that same test again we are able to overcome it by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Ok, let’s get to our text for today. As I mentioned earlier Jesus has just finished teaching the crowds and His disciples using parables. We might say, the disciples have been in the classroom, but now they are about to get some real life experience. You see, Jesus is now taking the twelve from lecture to life. He is taking them from teaching to testing. The what Lord revealed to the disciples in parables, He is now about to reveal in power. You see, Jesus has been teaching about the kingdom, and now in the pages that follow, He will demonstrate His power to bring in the Kingdom.

Let’s begin our study of Mark 4:35-41, but before we do let’s ask the Holy Spirit to open are hearts to God’s word. Let’s pray.

Mark 4:35 NKJV

35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”

Now let me point on a detail that we tend to read right past. The beginning of verse 35 says, “On the same day”. You know what this teaches us. This teaches us that all of the parables recorded in Mark chapter 4 were all given in one day. This means that Jesus had been teaching all day long. And what most likely happened was Jesus would teach the crowds for a while, speaking in parables, and during the breaks, when we had some time alone with His disciples he would explain to them what the parables meant.

Think about this for a moment. Jesus has been teaching all day, and in between speaking to the crowds He is giving His disciples further explanation. The point is both He and His disciples would have been exhausted. On the same day (that all of the parables were given), when evening had come,”. Jesus has been teaching and explaining parables all day, and then He says to His disciples. “Let us cross over to the other side”. Then look what we read in verse 36.

Mark 4:36 NKJV

36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.

Notice it says, “they took Him along in the boat as He was”. Now this could mean that Jesus was already in the boat when they departed. In fact, he had been teaching from the boat all day. Look back at verse 1 for a second.

Mark 4:1 NKJV

1 And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.

Because the crowds we so big, Jesus was teaching from a boat that was just slightly offshore. And it says the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.

Mark 4:36 NKJV

36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.

So, when we get back to verse 36, it says that the disciples shoved off with Jesus in the boat just “as He was”. It is very likely that Mark adds this detail to let us know that they left immediately g with no time to eat or sleep. Again, this means both Jesus and the disciples were exhausted, and this is going to set the stage for what happens next. But notice one more detail about the scene. It says, And other little boats were also with Him. So, this is more than the twelve disciples. There were other disciples tagging along, and moving along to verse 37.

Mark 4:37–38 NKJV

37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

First, we need to talk about these first century fishing boats. These boats were designed with low sides with a raised section at one end. Well as this verse tells us, “the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling”. In other words, the waves were crashing over the low sides, as Jesus was sleeping at one end in the raised section. Now remember, these are professional fisherman. Some of these disciples had been fishing these very waters their entire lives. This let’s us know that this is a full blown emergency. Notice the verse, so that it was already filling. In other words, their boat was sinking. They are about to be lost at sea, and this makes their reaction understandable. Right. I mean how would be have reacted if we were in a small fishing boat that was literally sinking.

So, the disciples go to Jesus and the in the Greek this comes across as language of panic, rather than that of respectful address. Some commentators point out that the disciples were rebuking Jesus for sleeping during this emergency. Now, the way the question is put together in the Greek suggests that they disciples were in full blown panic mode, but it also suggests that they knew He cared about them. In one of my Greek textbooks the author suggested that a possible way to translate this would be, Teacher you care that we are perishing, don’t you? In other words, they were expecting Jesus to say yes I care about you, and then handle the situation. And I bring this up not to confuse you with technicalities, but to make a point.

How many times in life to we let fear overcome our faith? How many situations have we been where we let panic take over and we throw up our hands and say, “God how could you let this happen to me?” God I know that you love me, but why did you let this happen? And I think all of us would answer. We’ve done it so many times. We have made the same mistake the disciples made in this boat so many times. And this is what this whole lesson was about for the disciples, and this is what this account teaches us.

Disciples must be perfectly trained to handle life’s storms

We need to be in the classroom with our Bibles open, learning about who Jesus is. We need to be studying these accounts about the disciples so we can learn from their mistakes. You see, these moments of terror are going to happen in our lives, and the way that we respond to them will depend upon how well we are trained.

I used to be a pilot, in what feels like some previous life at this point. I was a flight instructor building hours so that I could move on fly big jets, whether that be with an airline or for a corporate outfit. In any event, I was talking to an older pilot one day, and he said flying is basically hours and hours of boredom interrupted by brief moments of sheer terror. Well, when we told me that I cracked up laughing, and I’ve never forgotten it. You see, when your job is flying you obviously spend a lot of time in the air. Which means you spend hours and hours and hours just going from point A to point B. In a lot of ways it becomes like driving your car. The overwhelming majority of the time its pretty boring. It can be pretty boring until something happens. And when something happens you go from this perfectly relaxed state to an your heart pounding out of your chest almost instantaneously. This might be bad weather popping up. It might be the engine sputtering a little bit. It might be a warning light that comes on. But believe me, when something happens like that it is terrifying until you the problem is fixed. That is what this old pilot meant. It’s hours and hours of boredom interrupted by brief moments of sheer terror.

Now I promise I have a point, so stay with me. As you might imagine pilots go though a lot of training, and they have to go through many hours of recurring training. Why? So they can effective deal with those brief moments of sheer terror. You see, its when the emergencies come, when your adrenaline is pumping, and your heart is pounding out of your chest that you need to rely on your training. Pilots spend hours and hours going over emergency procedures and having emergency checklists pounded into their memories specifically for the moments of sheer terror.

So, here is my point. Our lives as Christians, or even our lives in general are a lot like flying an airplane. Most of the time its routine, its business as usual. We wake up brush our teeth go to work, come home, eat dinner, relax with the kids, rinse and repeat. But as we all know, mixed into the daily routine are moments of brief terror or moments of intense suffering. And just like flying and airplane how we respond to those moments of terror will depend upon how well we are trained. In the same way pilots spend hours and hours in the class room learning checklists and emergency procedures, believers need to be in our Bibles learning all about God. We need to be learning about who He is, what He has done, and what He has promised to do in the future. And the more we study our Bibles and learn about who God is, then the better we will respond when the storms of life hit. Disciples must be perfectly trained to handle life’s storms. We must be well trained so that fear doesn’t overcome our faith. This is what happened to the disciples during this storm. Their fear overcame their faith.

Ok, I will finish this train of thought as we close today, but I need to get back to Mark or I won’t have time to finish.

So, the disciples come to Jesus in full panic mode, rebuking Him for being a sleep, and moving on to verse 39,

Mark 4:39–40 NKJV

39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

Man, there is a ton to unpack in these two verses. Let’s start with Jesus rebuking the wind, and what He says to the sea. Notice it says, He “rebuked the wind”. What is interesting here is Jesus is speaking to the wind and sea as if they are a person. What is even more interesting is that there are three instances in Mark Gospel where Jesus uses this same word as He is rebuking and casting out demons. This leads many commentators to the conclusion that this isn’t just a natural storm. In other words, Satan was behind this storm, and this was a Satanic attempt to destroy Jesus and His disciples. I agree with this. I don’t think this was a natural storm. I think it was a supernatural storm controlled by Satan. He is the enemy of both Christ and His disciples.

But, here is the take away. All opposition to the Lord is futile, meaning it will fail. The Lord of all glory will bring to pass what He promises. No matter how hard Satan tries to stop it, Jesus is bringing in an eternal kingdom. Jesus is bringing in the eternal kingdom He was teaching about in parables, and now He is demonstrating to His disciples that He has the power to do it. He rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still”. Jesus rebukes the wind, and addresses the sea as if it were an unruly heckler. “Peace be still could rightly be translated “Silence, be muzzled.” This is an authoritative command showing that this Man sleeping in the boat has power of the wind and waves of the sea. This is the God Man. The coming King who will establish His eternal Kingdom upon this earth, and this is no force of nature, nor any spiritual force of wickedness that can do anything to stop it. The Lord speaks, “And the wind ceased and there was a great calm”.

If this doesn’t blow your mind I don’t know what will. The tiny details throughout this account scream that this was an eyewitness account given to Mark from Peter. The fact, that Jesus was sleep on the pillow in the stern of the boat. The fact that there were other little boats tagging along. Peter saw this. Peter lived this. It just unimaginable. Moving on to verse 40 now.

Now that Jesus has calmed the storm, he turns to His disciples and rebukes them. “But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” Now when we see this word faith we need to understand that Jesus isn’t telling these men that they aren’t saved. These men were evangelized and believed in Jesus before He called them into fulltime ministry. So what kind of faith is He talking about here? He is talking about something I call discipleship faith. Jesus is talking about having faith in God to see them through the storm. He is talking about the kind of faith that says, “Lord I have no idea why you are letting this happen, but I know You. I know that you are good, and I believe that the safest place in the middle of this raging storm is right here in the boat with you”. These men had the Lord of all glory right next to them and that should be all that mattered. And the same is true for us. We shouldn’t go into panic mode when storms hit because we have Jesus with us at all time. He is with us through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit we have inside us. The disciples needed the type of faith that rested on the promises and power of God regardless of what kind of storm they faced. And you know what, that is the kind of faith we need.

Do you know what the whole account teaches us. It teaches us that

Discipleship is a Process

Being saved from the lake of fire happens the instant we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but discipleship is a process that spans our entire lives. Discipleship is learning about Jesus as we study the Bible so that we are equipped to deal with life’s storms when they come. If you aren’t growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will not respond well to life’s storms. In other words, fear will overcome you faith. But if you are walking with the Lord daily, and you are constantly seeing His goodness, His Grace, His mercy, and His power as you look into the mirror of God’s word, then no matter how bad the storm is you will respond in faith.

The Gospel of Mark is a book about discipleship. It is written to believers to instruct them on the growth process. It gives us the accounts of the disciples and shows their growth process. The gospel of Mark let’s us know that storms are coming and even when we fail, like the disciples did here, we can still be used by God. As disciples we must always be learning and learning takes time. Let’s take a quick look at our final verse for today.

Mark 4:41 NKJV

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

Let me point something out about this word fear. It says, “they feared exceedingly”. This is a different Greek word than the one that occurred in verse 40 when Jesus said why are you so fearful. When Jesus rebuked them He used a Greek word that means cowardly fear. The word in this verse can mean a profound respect for someone or something, often a deity. In other words, Jesus rebuked them for their cowardly fear of the storm, but the fear here is an appropriate response of humans when faced with a display of divine power and glory. Often times we explain this as a sense of awe.

Here is the point, and it one I’ve been taking throughout this lesson and throughout this series. Disciples need to continue to grow in the understanding of who God is. This disciples knew that this was the Messiah. They knew that they eternal destiny rested in His hands, but they hadn’t grasped the depth of the majesty and power of the Lord. Look at their response. “Who can this be, that even the wind and sea obey Him”. I don’t think the disciples have comprehended that God is standing right in front of them. You see, these men have much to learn about their Messiah standing right in front of them. Just like we have much to learn about the glory of the Lord as He reveals Himself to us on the pages of scripture.

Please don’t make the mistake of thinking we can go through our Christian lives without being students of the word. Hearing, studying, and obeying the word of God is what perfectly trains us on this pathway of discipleship. And if we aren’t perfectly trained, then we will not be like our master, and we will be ill-prepared to deal with the storms that life throws at us.

Let’s pray.